Caution when dealing with 2nd Childhood Toys and Collectables

[bowspearer]

I'm posting this both against my better judgement in light of the last time I gave people here a heads up and in disbelief that I'd ever have to make such a thread about this particular seller- who prior to this, I had every reason to suspect was nothing but a stand up guy who prided himself on customer service. To be clear, I don't need advice here and no this isn't a "poor me" thread; it's simply giving people a heads up so they can avoid getting stung too.

At the April 6 Canberra fair, I bought a Hot Toys 1989 Batman from 2nd Childhood Toys and Collectables for $380 and given the market prices he goes for, I was entirely happy with the deal at the time.

Last night I finally decided to get him out of the box, only to discover that the PERS system on him broke, resulting in the left eye being cross eyed.

Figuring the best approach was simply to try and get a replacement head sourced from Hot Toys through him. Should be straightforward right? Boy was I wrong.

The following is the email chain that has transpired to date through the ebay messaging system (the only way I knew of to get hold of him):

Hi Kyle,
The Hot Toys 89 Batman you sold me at the April Canberra fair has a dodgy pers system (from what I'm reading, apparently it was a fairly common issue with DX-09s). Could you get in touch with Hot Toys and organise a replacement head?

Cheers,
Andy

No . I Bought it from popcultcha and they wont replace anything either. It had never been removed from the box so I am also not liable.
Sorry
Kyle

It's worth mentioning at this point that when I bought it, it had been removed from the mailer box, and the plastic covering the figure was missing.

Anyway, moving on:

Really, popcultcha wont source replacement parts from hot Toys? Then why is it that I was just on the phone to Popculcha and when I spoke to a gentleman named Toby, I was told by him that they would try and source replacement parts from Hot Toys? In fact the only reason that they would not deal directly with me is that as they are a retail store and do not operate as a distributor, they will only deal with the customer who bought it from them directly - in this case, that would be you.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and presume that you simply weren't aware that they would try and source replacement parts, and once again ask you to try and source a replacement head - this time by contacting Popculcha collectables and getting them to get the ball rolling on this. I trust that you will do the right thing here.

What I wouke you to do is box it back up and send it to me. I knew dealing with you is always a hassle. So this is what I will do. Send it back and drop it off and I will give you a complete refund. I had no idea about the problem because item has never been removed from the box. If i am going to waste my time trying to get replacement parts for an item I bought well over 12 months ago I would like to do it for myself. If you do not have my address please call me so i can give you my email address so you can contatc me away from my business.
And are far as Benefit of doubt i know of 2 people who have had problems with the Batman and Popcultcha promised the world and come up with zip both times. That is why I also no longer by my hot toys from them. So if you would kindly box up the item and safely return it to me I will return the $380 you paid for it. Than I will contatc Popcultcha and run through the practise of requiring about replacement parts and than not recieving them with out you messaging me every day or questioning my methods.
I dont have all day to discuss this as I run a business.
The usual coarse of action is to return a faulty item back to where you bought it. That is me.
kyle
04########

Wow. Just Wow. It's highly telling that you call basic customer service "a hassle".

There was nothing unreasonable in what I was asking from you- which amounts to nothing more than a simple email request to a supplier for replacement parts. All I asked you to do initially is to contact Hot Toys to try and source a replacement.

Then when you got back to me, claimed that Popculcha were who you got it from, claimed they will not source replacement parts for damaged Hot Toys items. I found that curious, so I contacted them, for clarification, was told a very different story, that they would have helped me out, but because they are not a distributor or a wholesaler, they only deal with the people they bought it from. I then contacted you again, raised the misinformation asked you to do the right thing contact Popculcha to try and source a replacement part.

Had Hot Toys no longer had replacement heads in stock, then while I wouldn't have liked it, I would have accepted it and taken the hit. Had Popculcha over-promised and under-delivered, then while I wouldn't have been happy, I would have understood that it was out of your control and again, taken the hit.

Yet instead of the basic customer service you were talking about only a couple of years ago during a phone conversation we had where you were talking about the importance of customer service priding yourself on it, now someone wanting you to merely send off a couple of emails to try and source a replacement part is effectively "nothing but trouble" and you don't have time for basic customer service because you run a business, despite sales service being a part of that business?

Honestly it's a pretty bad look- especially when your response to such a reasonable request is essentially "Fine! Send it back to me for a full refund, now shut up and go away!"

I'll consider whether I try & source the parts myself or take the return & refund option, but either way I can no longer recommend you to others.

The options are to send the item back to me and you will recieve a refund.
I have no problem trying to source a part down the road but i am sure you may know there are very few retail shops that will source a part for you. They will just let you refund the faulty item. As I see it the only way for me to replace the part is for me to have the item in my hands so i can not only see the problem but I can also describe the problem to those who will attempt to source a replacement.
As a retail shop I am happy to supply you with a complete refund as stated in my previous emails when the item has been returned to me.
Thank you for your time
Kyle
2nd Childhood Toys and Collectables

On the contrary Kyle, as we are both aware, high end brands, such as Toynami and in this case, Hot Toys, do keep spares on hand to allow for replacement parts to be sent out to customers and to give retailers the option to source them for customers. As for having seeing the part and describing it, at the least photos could have been sent to you or for that matter, I could have just as easily sent just the head to you if it needed to be sent back as part of the replacement process. There were so many other options here which someone should be able to expect when they buy a high end $400 figure in terms of a reasonable level of customer service. You're simply deciding to throw this in the "too hard basket".

It's ironic- you were someone who I once greatly admired in terms of your business ethics- in fact I was blown away when you went out of your way to try and get Jamie to put things right with the Transformers Train set - even though you had nothing to do with that sale and therefore no responsiblity to do anything to intervene with it. Back the, you were someone who talked the talk when it came to customer service- but backed it up by well and truly walking the walk. I honestly wonder what the you from back then would say if you could see yourself now.

I'll try and source the replacement part myself, but don't expect me to speak favourably about this transaction to others.

Honestly, I'm shocked at how this has gone down. The Kyle from a few years ago would never have been like this and would have happily emailed his supplier to try and get this sorted out - even if nothing came of it. Heck, if I was asked even a couple of days ago about him as a seller, I would have happily recommended him and never have imagined a scenario where I would ever remotely have to warn people to be wary when dealing with him. I honestly don't know what's happened to cause this; all I can say is that if this is any indication, I'd recommend people exercise caution when dealing with him in the future.

[Deonasis]

Nothing dodgey done?

[drifand]

Nothing dodgey done?

nah, just bad selling rep. I can't say much as a lot of sellers are more protective as toys are a bit well.....not as high quality controlled as before.

[bowspearer]

The thing is this shouldn't have even been an issue to begin with. Hot Toys do carry spare parts for this very reason (whether they still have any in stock is another question of course) so it should have been a simple matter of contacting Hot Toys, either directly, or indirectly, to try and source the part.

It should have just been a situation where an email got sent off and either the part came in or there being no luck there- if nothing came of it then that would have just been the luck of the draw. Instead, it's become this situation where apparently after sales service is "taking time away from his business" and simply wanting the seller to send off an email to try and source replacement parts (from a toy company that does have that option) apparently makes someone nothing but trouble. It's bad enough when it happens with a dodgy seller, but as I said, Kyle was honestly one of the last people I'd every expect to behave in this manner.

[1AZRAEL1]

I'm gonna come to Kyle's defense and say I've never had a problem with him and have dealt with him many times.

[bowspearer]

I've dealt with him several times too and before this I've never had a problem; never imagined in a million years that I would have had a problem with him either. That's why as I said, I'm in disbelief that I would actually have to post this thread, and I genuinely hope that for whatever reason he's just temporarily taken leave of his senses, because what I encountered is the complete opposite of what I've come to expect from him.

It's for that reason I'm recommending people exercise caution with him rather than avoiding him and I truly hope that whatever has caused this on his end, passes soon.

[Trent]

Seems like it escalated really quickly and is strange that in his first reply he stated that he had no liability yet in his second reply offers you a full refund (even if it is complete with attitude.)

That is no way for any business to conduct itself. While I do believe that Bowspearer could have handled his end better with his second reply, this "Kyle" showed a complete lack of understanding of basic customer service.

[bowspearer]

I'm curious Trent, how do you feel I could have handled that second response better, because I feel I handled it pretty well, all things considering. Not picking a fight; genuinely curious.

[Defcon]

I don't really see a problem here. I think both parties could of handled themselves better. Sometimes people are just having a bad day. Not knowing all the facts, just an observation, customer service is a 2 way street, both parties need to act in a thoughtful manner to get the best outcome. Looks like Kyle started off poorly by been really blunt and unhelpful, next though the tone of your message comes across with a hint of accusation. Looks like it just escalated from there.

[drifand]

I'm curious Trent, how do you feel I could have handled that second response better, because I feel I handled it pretty well, all things considering. Not picking a fight; genuinely curious.

Wouldn't used words like "Really", looking back I used it myself and may pissed people off. The seller might be having a bad day and when you said that is just like telling him off too.